Rhubarb Stepping Stone - How To

Are you a can jammer with leftover rhubarb leaves?

Don't throw them away!

Make a stepping stone!

First dig a shallow hole.

Mix up some concrete.
Remember to wear a mask, eye protection and gloves. Really. It's not fun to get cement in your eyes or lungs.

Place your leaves on top of the cement.

Put a plastic bag on top of the rhubarb leaves and then cover it with a layer of damp sand.

Your stepping stone should be hard in a few hours or overnight - depending on the type of cement you decide to use. I use mortar mix, because it gives the stepping stones a finer detail. There aren't any stones in the mortar mix.

Once your stepping stone is dry let it cure for a few days. Spray it with water every day. Then you can paint it. I use Patio Paints and then seal with an exterior varnish.

This is one I made last summer. For this one I put the leaf down first and then poured the cement on top of it.

Building a Covered Bed

I found some 5 foot lengths of black pipe at the local Menard's store.

They are called black flexible water pipes.

I like them ,because they are precut and I can put them in my car without looking like an idiot driving through town with PVC pipes sticking out of my back window.

Although, I still buy the PVC pipes sometimes - seems like I can't avoid looking like an idiot - at least occasionally.

OK continuing with the tutorial!

I also used a few branches, cut into 8 inch lengths, to hold the pipe in the soil, but I think I may end up using some kind of bracket instead, because the hoops tend to fall over when it rains and the soil gets soft.

Stick, soil, pipe.

Cover with row cloth.

Planting Tomatoes

Before the plant sale I took out the plants that I wanted to keep.

The week after the plant sale was beautiful - sunny, 75F - perfect spring/summer.

So, silly me I planted all my plants.

Two days after I planted everything, we had freezing temps. For. The. Whole. Next. Week.

I covered everything, but the peppers aren't looking so great.

These pictures will probably be the peppers memorial service. Remember those beautiful peppers? Oh, yes they were just starting to live, so sad....taken in the prime of life.

This is how I plant my indeterminate tomatoes.

Dig a nice deep trench and amend with kelp (fertilizer) and crushed crab shells (calcium).
Put the tomato to bed in the trench and pull the soil covers up to its leafy chin.


Water deeply.

This is how close I plant my tomatoes.

Remember I grow my tomatoes up not out - so it works.

These are the covered beds I made - I'll show you how in my next post.

In these beds I planted the peppers -poor frosted peppers :(

In this bed the cabbage and broccoli are nestled. On the far right of the covered bed I have Golden shallots.

The bed in front of that has peas and onions.

More tomatoes.

More tomatoes!

The dearly departed peppers.

Really I am sad about this!

Broccoli and cabbage.